The Flack highlights changes and trends in the news, examples of communications practices, and content we at BYRNE PR thought you might find useful.
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He Created the Web. Now He’s Out to Remake the Digital World — Three decades ago, Tim Berners-Lee devised simple yet powerful standards for locating, linking and presenting multimedia documents online. He set them free into the world, unleashing the World Wide Web. But now, Mr. Berners-Lee believes the online world has gone astray. Too much power and too much personal data, he says, reside with the tech giants like Google and Facebook — “silos” is the generic term he favors, instead of referring to the companies by name. That said, he has a solution that could change everything and create the Web he originally intended. Dig into this piece from the New York Times.
A Photograph Can Change the World. The Story Behind the Image that Will Haunt Josh Hawley — Sometimes we don’t stop and think about the power of images, but the photograph of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley last week is a good reminder. The freshman Republican gave a thumbs-up, fist pump and wave as the crowd outside the Capitol cheered. Francis Chung, a photographer from E&E News, which covers energy and environmental issues, didn’t have any inkling he was about to capture one of the most iconic images from the day the Capitol was breached by rioters. But within an hour the context of the fist pump changed dramatically, for Chung and for Hawley. Check out the story behind the photo from The Kansas City Star.
Science Needs Public Relations — These days it feels like science is on the losing end of public opinion. In a recent 3M State of Science Survey, 32% of those surveyed believe their life wouldn’t be that different if science didn’t exist. Around the world, we see basic safety precautions like wearing a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 go ignored due to the lack of faith in scientific advice preached by public health officials. As if these examples are not reason enough for worry, a recent paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research suggests that, historically, trust in scientists and the benefits of their work is significantly reduced after global pandemics. So why, despite all the available evidence, does the general public choose not to trust science? Herein lies the public relations challenge.
5 Communication Lessons From Dr. Anthony Fauci — Few had a busier 2020 than Dr. Anthony Fauci. The 80-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases was front and center as spokesperson for the White House Coronavirus Taskforce. With multiple interviews and daily press briefings, Fauci has proven himself to be a particularly effective communicator. In addition to his expertise as an immunologist, there are other reasons reporters want to speak with him and the public wants to hear from him. Here are five of the top reasons why he has been so effective.
How to Write a Sister of the Groom Speech — We aren’t in the wedding planning business, but this article from Brides magazine was too good to pass up. The tips they offer for writing a sister of the groom speech could easily transfer to the workplace. It’s filled with simple tips that could work for a keynote speech or any presentation. Key takeaway: “You want to think of your speech like a good, old-fashioned story with a beginning, middle, and almighty climax.”
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How Newspapers Around the World Covered the Siege of the U.S. Capitol
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flack noun : one who provides publicity flack verb : to act as a press agent or promoter for something The word flack was first used as a noun meaning “publicity agent” during the late 1930s. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack.